CAA Provisional Statistics Update

[Jerry]

The 1.5 million passengers mark has been reached.
www.cardiff-airport.com/news/2018/05/10/cardiff-airport-hits-1-5m-milestone/

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Last at that level in the early months of 2010. When the WG took over CWL in March 2013 the 12-month rolling total was 994,885 so that is some going percentagewise in five years.

 

[Jerry]

Last at that level in the early months of 2010. When the WG took over CWL in March 2013 the 12-month rolling total was 994,885 so that is some going percentagewise in five years.

Yep it is good growth. Just shows what can be achieved with a based airline and airlines that want to commit and work to grow at the airport. With Qatar launching it's more positivity for the airport.

 

[Jerry]

15 months of consecutive growth at Cardiff Airport
The national airport for Wales is continuing on its positive journey of transformation and today announces 15 months of consecutive passenger growth, with over 1.51 million customers now choosing to fly from Cardiff.

As of the end of May 2018, which in itself was the busiest May since 2009, passenger figures are up 9% for the rolling year, with double digit growth projected for the coming financial year.

This achievement reflects many positive milestones since the Airport’s change of ownership in 2013; which includes new airlines, more destinations and significant improvements to the terminal and customer experience.

18 airlines now fly out of Cardiff, many of which have added more capacity on existing routes and introduced new destinations as well as better value for money and convenient flight times.

The fastest growing routes over the last 12 months are:
Belfast City (Flybe)
Glasgow (Flybe)
Anglesey (Eastern Airways, bookable on Flybe.com)
Cork (Flybe)
Paris Charles de Gaulle (Flybe)
Jersey (Flybe)
Verona (Flybe)
Dusseldorf (Flybe)
Faro (Flybe, TUI, Ryanair)
Barcelona (Vueling)

Recent highlights at Cardiff Airport include:

A new regular service to Doha, Qatar with 5* airline Qatar Airways, which creates new links between Wales and Australia, New Zealand, the Far East and beyond
Flybe introduced a third aircraft to its base at Cardiff Airport and now offers flights to 17 destinations plus four others via franchise partners. Passenger numbers have grown by 124% since the base opened in June 2015
KLM celebrated 30 years of flying customers between Wales and Amsterdam Schiphol airport, acting as a key hub for passengers flying onwards to destinations across the world. The airline has recently increased its capacity with the introduction of a larger, super-efficient Embraer 175 with a capacity of 88 seats and a 100 seater Embraer 190
New summer flights to Antalya (Turkey) with TUI and Thomas Cook and a second weekly flight to Dalaman (Turkey) with Thomas Cook
Spanish airline Iberia Express has returned for a second summer, flying twice a week to Madrid
To reflect Cardiff Airport’s commitment to delivering the best possible customer experience, the new-look Departure Lounge was also unveiled recently which includes a new Costa Coffee, WH Smith and 51° Executive and Business Lounge, all within a bright and airy space overlooking the airfield.

Deb Barber, CEO of Cardiff Airport, said: “15 months of continuous passenger growth is a very promising reflection of how far Cardiff Airport has come and the positive direction that we are headed.

“Our airlines, namely KLM, Qatar Airways and TUI, have recognised the potential and invested in Wales and we have also made significant improvements to the customer experience and the terminal which, again, encourages customers to choose to fly from Cardiff.

“Our commitment is to be a national airport that the people of Wales can be proud of and to be a vital gateway for visitors into the UK. With more positive developments to come and double digit growth projected for the year ahead, Cardiff Airport is proud to fly the flag for Wales and to more exciting developments to follow.”

What’s next?

Cardiff Airport will unveil its Masterplan, detailing our vision up to 2040
TUI will add an additional aircraft to its base at Cardiff Airport for summer 2019. Adding new flights to Hurghada (Egypt), Dubrovnik (Croatia), Naples (Italy) and Enfidha (Tunisia) and 100,000 extra seats
Thomas Cook will introduce flights to Enfidha (Tunisia) in summer 2019
Super Break will operate a number of short break packages to Madeira and Iceland in 2018/19.
15 months of consecutive growth:

March 17

11%

April 17

19%

May 17

10%

June 17

19%

July 17

5%

August 17

7%

September 17

7%

October 17

4%

November 17

8%

December 17

10%

January 18

7%

February 18

10%

March 18

11%

April 18

10%

May 18

12%
www.cardiff-airport.com/news/2018/06/13/15-months-of-consecutive-growth-at-cardiff-airport/

 

[aviatorconcorde]

Thanks Jerry. do we know the stats for each route yet?

 

[Jerry]

Thanks Jerry. do we know the stats for each route yet?

Nope. Still waiting for the CAA stats for April and May though no doubt for May everyone will be looking to see what Doha is like!
It is good positive news and shows that the airport is progressing back to 2 million passengers steadily. All we need now is Flybe to announce a 4th based aircraft and more routes from Ryanair!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I'm looking forward to reading the airport's new master plan when it comes out. The current one published a decade ago was somewhat over optimistic although in fairness it was before the major recession which put a damper on so many things, and not just in aviation. The previous owners also lost interest. Nevertheless, whether CWL would be handling over 4.5 mppa now as was projected for 2015 is probably doubtful.

 

[Jerry]

It doesn't say when it'll be out though! Fingers crossed it'll be soon!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It doesn't say when it'll be out though! Fingers crossed it'll be soon!

Did I once read August or is that a dream?

 

[Jerry]

Did I once read August or is that a dream?

I don't know. I read somewhere saying that it would be released in the summer but no month was given.
I just seen a point elsewhere about the Masterplan going to 2040 in that if the airport keeps up with its targeted growth of 1 million passengers every 5 year's then by 2040 the passenger numbers will be near 6 million so a new terminal would be needed.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I don't know. I read somewhere saying that it would be released in the summer but no month was given.
I just seen a point elsewhere about the Masterplan going to 2040 in that if the airport keeps up with its targeted growth of 1 million passengers every 5 year's then by 2040 the passenger numbers will be near 6 million so a new terminal would be needed.

Hopefully their projections for the next 20 years will be far more accurate than they've been for the past twelve. I wasn't aware of a target of an extra million passengers every five years.

EXT was also highly optimistic when it pubished its master plan a decade ago projecting up to nearly 2 mppa by now. The master plans were produced following the 2003 government White Paper The Future of Air Transport when low cost airlines were beginning to make a splash and many airports thought it was the beginning of a golden period. The White Paper itself was also on the gung ho side when it came to future airport passenger numbers so I suppose airports took their cue from that.

 

[Jerry]

. I wasn't aware of a target of an extra million passengers every five years.

Neither was i. In the end the airport can predict a lot of things in the Masterplan but it doesn't neccesarily mean that it'll happen. My personal opinion is that as an airport if Cardiff can realise it's potential that 2.5 million to 3 million is more realistic in the long run considering the size of it's catchment area.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Neither was i. In the end the airport can predict a lot of things in the Masterplan but it doesn't neccesarily mean that it'll happen. My personal opinion is that as an airport if Cardiff can realise it's potential that 2.5 million to 3 million is more realistic in the long run considering the size of it's catchment area.

I think the catchment can go more than that and the capital city airport cachet is gradually being exploited too so that will help although I would not give a timescale on the rate of growth. 6 mppa might well be seen by 2040, perhaps even more. There are so many variables: the economy, long term effects of Brexit, the health of the industry, competition such as runway 3 at LHR etc. All this of course applies to other airports too.

 

[Jerry]

To get anywhere near 6 million the airport would need a big commitment from the likes of Easyjet or Ryanair or Jet2 or more likely a combination of all 3 not to mention it's current airlines as well.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

To get anywhere near 6 million the airport would need a big commitment from the likes of Easyjet or Ryanair or Jet2 or more likely a combination of all 3 not to mention it's current airlines as well.

Who knows what might happen in the next 20 years? An airline not currently in existence might be a big player by then. One or two of the likes of easyJet, Ryanair and Jet2 might merge. At the beginning of this century there was not much thought given to First Choice and the then Thomson Group merging.

The current CWL thinking as I understand it is to get back up to 2 mppa (the way things are developing by 2020 at the latest) then use that as a platform to grow further with 3 mppa the initial target from there.

 

[mathers_wales_uk]

I agree with The Local Yokel, main target for Cardiff Airport will be to increase passenger numbers to the level seen in 2007 when the airport was at it's busiest.

The 3rd based Tui B737-800 during the summer along with hopefully improved load factors on current airlines especially the Flybe & Qatar services will certainly bring us close to this figure.

The next question is where we go from here. However the more busier Cardiff Airport becomes, the more interest airlines will have in operating from here.

There were positive hint of more good news to follow in the latest airport press release regarding passenger figures.

 

[Jerry]

Even with Qatar and TUI and hopefully Flybe basing a 4th aircraft the airport will need more from Vueling, Ryanair and Thomas Cook to keep the momentum going. So hopefully that positive news is something to do with them!

 

[Foxlimayankee]

The key to any of it is commercial viability. We'll never really know the actually deals that are going on, but as I see it;
Qatar - There's probably more of a government deal than an Airport deal behind this route. Fares aren't always the cheapest in comparison, but after seeing a post on a separate forum that the route seems to be picking up quite healthily. So if the passenger numbers are doing well, and fares are still reasonable, the route could well be profitable. Hopefully that means the Airport can get decent standard earning from the QR service. IF there's an Airport deal that's been done, then that money is going in QR's pockets.

TUI - Being the biggest holiday operator in the UK, they are in good position to continue to grow, as Jet2 are moving more and more in their territory. Having the better spread across the UK they are in a position to grow regional Airports, which may affect their operations at the larger Airports, but still gains them custom. The confidence to put a 3rd aircraft into CWL, along with the huge growth they are seeing at BRS must mean that not only are there growing markets, but people from South Wales and the West are being encouraged back to the region that may choose to fly from BHX or LGW. Given that prices on CWL holidays are usually equal to or more expensive than the likes of BRS, BHX and LGW, for TUI I would say CWL is a profitable base. Hopefully that means that CWL didn't need to do much of a deal with them to get the 3rd aircraft.

Thomas Cook - They either need to do what TUI are doing and stimulate growth on the basis that the market is there, or up their game purely to protect what market share they have left in South Wales before the likes of Jet2 move in or TUI become the favoured Tour Operator. Either that or they consolidate completely in the region and fly all their customers from BRS. Eventually that bubble may burst as people are being tempted by using CWL more.

Flybe - The "deal" is said to be for 2 aircraft used as the WG/Airport please. It seems to be working on some routes and not as great as others, but the connectivity is there. Hopefully the 4th aircraft will come, but given that BE really don't seem to know their tail from their nosecone at the moment, hopefully the outcome of what is the mess of their DSA ops, aircraft utilisation and selection process and growing concerns over their future business plans, will actually point them to what on the face of it is a successful base that can continue to grow. I can see CWL becoming like SOU, where it can operate as a mini hub. Eastern seem to be making a hash of NCL lately, but are ideal to run alongside BE's own aircraft if they can get their own house in order.

Vueling - Having now been at CWL for over 6 years, you'd have hoped that we would've seen more from them by now. ALC and AGP have been strong performers. PMI has seen various changes but probably has more seasonality around it. The timings of PMI and BCN on occasions have been poor, with the flights with good timings generally do very well. It's a shame VY are going through the changes and operational issues in the past, as I think we would've seen more from them by now. With all the hype surrounding CWL lately, it's is bound to win back people that have been travelling from elsewhere. That should only benefit VY as they operate to good performing routes. However given that VY were likely tempted with a deal to CWL, if that deal was for say 5 years, that might explain why now the deal has potentially ended, further growth is lower if it's not as profitable.

 

[Jerry]

CAA Stats April 2018
104,874 passengers passed through the airport up 9.5% on 2017.
The rolling year is 1,493,807 up 8.9% on this time in 2017. Atms were 1301 up 6.4%.

 

[Jerry]

Domestic routes April 2018
Aberdeen 758 +11%
Anglesey 1299 +54%
Belfast City 5944 +54%
Doncaster Sheffield 67
Edinburgh 9692 +17%
Farnborough 41
Glasgow 2463 +18%
Humberside 77
Jersey 1767 +13%
Leeds Bradford 3
Liverpool 81
Manchester 79
Newcastle 1032 -6%
Norwich 85